ONE SHOT PRODUCTIONS
A Day in the Life of a Comic Book

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-Shadowlord
-Mark of the Jinn

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Being an Indie Publisher ain't easy.
It's not a way to get rich, and it's really not even a way to break even. Maybe everyone has a different reason why they would start publishing comics independently, but my reason is pretty simple. I just have to. I drew my first comic book on notebook paper with colored pencils in 1987 when I was 10 years old. And it sucked. Thankfully, my comics improved (slowly) over the following 10 or so years. I started publishing my comics in 2001. I love writing comics, and I'm getting more and more into developing my style of art as well.

Indie publishers have to balance all the same facets of life as anyone else (day job, chores, personal life, etc) but we also have to find the time to squeeze in all the duties of publishing that are usually done by a TEAM of paid comic professionals (writing, drawing, lettering, web design, promoting, etc). Sometimes you just want to relax. Sometimes you do that a little more often than you should. Sometimes a LOT more.

So on May 16, 2007, I decided to make a stand. I decided to try to do SOMETHING comic related EVERY DAY. I do have some rules, which are pretty loose and apt to change. I started this web log on July 1st 2007, and so far I HAVE done something for my comics every day. I don't know how long it can last, but I'm going to try.

I've decided to chronicle my daily comic tasks right here for our readers, to give them a peek into the creative steps and behind-the-scenes processes that bring these stories to the page. Enjoy :)
-Jay W. Davis, One Shot Productions

Previous Blogs: [Jul-Dec 2007] - [Jan-Jun 2008] - [Jul-Dec 2008] - [Jan-Jun 2009] - [Jul-Dec 2009] - [Jan-Jun 2010] - [Jul-Dec 2010] -

[Jan-Jun 2011] - [Jul-Dec 2011]

JANUARY 27, 2012
Care for another orc, sir? I figured out that the head shape the orcs have is very similar to that of a Great Dane canine, but with a shorter snout. This means the eye placement should be very high up on the head, which I'm still having trouble drawing (despite looking up plenty of visual references of the dog breed on the net). In fact, the sketches I've done today aren't even as good as the ones fron yesterday! Frustrating!

JANUARY 26, 2012
More orc sketches tonight. These focused more on the head structure. I'm getting closer to this vague image in my head, but the placement of the eyes is still challenging me. The head is more like a dog's head than a human head, but I'm still tempted to find human-placement for the eyes. I'm also not exactly sure where their hairline should begin. I definitely want them to have hair, but again the animal head shape is throwing me off. I've got a couple of nice hair sketches out tonight, though.

JANUARY 25, 2012
I sketched an orc and I liked it :) They're tall, and have a very non-human face. It's hard for me to capture exactly what I want out of the face, because I'll subconciously start drawing human features -- not that I've mastered drawing human features either! This sketch turned out well, and shows how tall and lean I want the orcs to be. They're taller than humans, partially because they walk on just the front part of their foot (sort of like cats). That is, their heel is off the ground as if walking on tip-toes. They are agile people, and don't walk "flat footed."

JANUARY 24, 2012
Let's talk about Orcs. Lots of fantasy stories include orcs. What is an orc? Well, who cares. It's now one of those words like "goblin" or "ogre" which conjures an idea of something that you probably wouldn't want to snuggle up with. In my world, orcs aren't bad. They're just a particular species of humanoid. They're not trained in magic, but are skilled farmers and hunters. I filled a page with my notes about orcs, and these will factor into a future story of "Mark of the Jinn" (probably in the fourth story arc). They are not as adept with magic as other races, so they make simple tools. This was a really fun concept to flesh out.

JANUARY 23, 2012
I drew a few more male elves with body art, and these were a bit better than the one from yesterday. This may be the best choice, especially considering that the heroes have the "Mark of the Jinn," which is like a tattoo or body art. If the elves are used to body art, it could add to their acceptance of the marked heroes.

JANUARY 22, 2012
After a brief conversation with Curtis Rhodes recently, we realized we're both at a loss for what kind of shirt the male elves could wear in "Mark of the Jinn: Prey." I think we're going to have to accept that these male elves will just have to go barechested. I feel like we're missing an opportunity to show off some interesting / unusual elf fashion that way, and I think Curtis feels that way too. Unfortunately, none of the designs look appropriate. The only thing that looks right for these particular elves is when they're drawn shirtless. Oh well. These won't be the last group of elves to factor into this series, so there will be other opportunities. Tonight, I sketched a shirtless male elf that had body art painted on his torso. This is a direction we may explore further.

JANUARY 21, 2012
I drew a fantasy creature today, which would inhabit the "Mark of the Jinn" world. It's a lot like a tiger, but with some changes that would make it even more dangerous than a real life one. I don't have any plans for this creature to go into a story yet, but the design has been bumping around in my head for a while and was ready to pour out.

JANUARY 20, 2012
I've got a particular look in mind for the main character from the "George saves his family" story. It's based on a heavyset actor from a television series. It was a show I didn't like, so I actually had to hunt down the actor's name before I could do an image search. After that, I attempted to draw the character based on this real-life person's look. It was terrible. Whenever I try to g draw "photorealistic" art, it turns out poorly. My friend and fellow artist Curtis Rhodes knocks it out of the park, and I think "man, I want to draw like that." I have much better results from the kind of art style I used on "Shadowlord" or "Ichiru's Poem." (sigh)

JANUARY 19, 2012
I did a little more work on "George saves his family." After determining the page breaks, it looks like it will be five pages long. I moved some things around at the end of the story, and added some improved dialogue and narration to the final page. Though the story follows George for most of it (about three pages), it's really about Ogburn. I'm wondering whether I should draw this myself, ask another artist to draw it, or just toss it on my often-neglected "drawthiscomic.com" website. I need to flesh out the choices on that site, but I'm really tempted to give the art a go myself, especially since it's violent and a bit messy :)

JANUARY 18, 2012
I got back to work on the "George saves his family" story. I started by writing out an action sequence tonight, though I stopped and reworked it a bit a couple times. That's because I decided to change the timing on some of the information revealed in the story. After the George's action sequence, I wrote a part in which Ogburn arrives to help. I wanted to finish the story tonight, but I was too sleepy to continue.

JANUARY 17, 2012
Man, I got caught up in some really fun rounds of "Gears of War 3" online tonight. Knowing that I still needed to work on comics, I grabbed a blank sheet and worked on an alien-like creature sketch in between rounds of the game. Though this sketch obviously did not have my full attention, it still turned out much better than the Ox Guard concept I tried drawing a few nights ago.

JANUARY 16, 2012
I started writing the "George saves his family" story in more detail. Right now, it's a bit of a mess. Some of the story is detailed panel descriptions, some is dialogue or narration, and some is just made of new notes. It's getting there, though.

JANUARY 15, 2012
I wrote a story synopsis tonight, for a short webcomic. The current working title is "George saves his family," though I expect that to undergo a change soon. The story will have an appearance by the guardian known as Ogburn, though he won't be the main character. The focus will be on a regular guy, named (did you guess?) George. He and his family are on the bad end of a zombie infestation. George is just a regular guy, trying to protect his home and family from the undead.

JANUARY 14, 2012
I continued work on the "Ox Guard" concept. I gave him a leather-armor look, which I still think needs improvement. I added a ninja-like mask on the lower part of his face, as well as shoulder guards, gauntlets and boots made all made from leather. His sash is a bit different, but he carries the same weapon. I'm done working on this character for now, but I have a feeling I'll revisit this concept sometime down the line.

JANUARY 13, 2012
Tonight's creature feature sketch I'm calling the "Ox Guard." It's a big broad-shouldered creature with big curved horns that come out from the side of his head and curving down toward his chin. I've drawn him with a monk-like outfit with a sash, and a long staff with a bludeon on each end.

JANUARY 12, 2012
Another creature sketch for my "Mark of the Jinn" world. Tonight is a concept for ogres, which I hope to make different from other ogres you've seen in fantasy art, games, movies, etc. I drew two versions of a female ogre. My wife noticed the drawing and complimented it, but I really wasn't able to draw it as well as I had hoped.

JANUARY 11, 2012
Tonight, I worked on a really fun creature for the "Mark of the Jinn" world. This is a shapeshifting creature, with a thick waxy outer skin. It eats by pushing food items into itself though any area of its body. It can create as many eyes as it wants, but usually sticks with two or four. I've filled the page around the sketch with notes about this creature, though I don't know when it will get a chance to show off its interesting points in an actual story.

JANUARY 10, 2012
Another sketch of young Stoic, but this one is a bit better. His hair is much shorter, so it's not so obvious that it's straight. I've added a couple of thin braclets and anklets, and a beaded necklace. Ive added some hoop earrings, which I like, but I'm not convinced that they will stay in the final version.

JANUARY 9, 2012
I drew a sketch of Stoic, the way he appeared as a young man. It didn't turn out that great. The sketch is fine, but his long straight hair looks a bit out of place. Also, I don't want him to look so different from his brother, who will have naturally curly hair.

JANUARY 8, 2012
What I wrote tonight takes place immediately after yesterday's story. Stoic's brother has one more detail to reveal, and shows a bite mark on his arm. The rest of the story is a dialogue between the brothers about what to do next. They argue, and are not able to agree on an outcome.

JANUARY 7, 2012
Back to more writing on Stoic's family history. This brief story takes place many years after the loss of their father. Stoic and his brother run into another group of vampires, like the ones I've been drawing. At the end, the brothers watch the sunrise, and Stoic's brother reveals a detail about their past that Stoic had never known.

JANUARY 6, 2012
I did a couple of new vampire sketches today. These have a much better body shape. These are much thinner and leaner than the drawing from yesterday. They look a bit more wild and zombie like now. Though thin, these vampires are still very strong. I don't know when I'll find the time to turn make a webcomic involving these vampires, but I'd sure like to.

JANUARY 5, 2012
I stepped away from writing for a moment to draw one of the vampires from yesterday's story. The events take place in Africa a long time ago, so these vampires should look very different from your standard white European vampires. The one I drew today looks good, but he's got a very average body shape, and I think I'd like to do something a bit different here.

JANUARY 4, 2012
The next part of Stoic's family history is the loss of Stoic's dad (during a fight against vampires). Stoic, was still just a teenager when he and his brother buried their father. The writing tonight includes some brief but heavy dialogue between the characters.

JANUARY 3, 2012
Speaking of Guardians, I've done some more writing about Stoic's family history. I've written notes on this before, but the events have become more clear in my head. Sometimes, these ideas float around in there, unattached like balloons. When I see the ones I like, I pull them by their strings and tie them down in these notes. Today I wrote a little about how Stoic's mom disappeared.

JANUARY 2, 2012
I wrote more notes about the monster hunter today. That's a bit of a misnomer I guess, considering he fights ghosts, spirits, demons, etc. Anyway, I described some of his enchanted artifacts today, and explained why a mere human is able to stay in the fight against his supernatural foes. What I'm cooking up for him isn't ready to be tasted yet, so I'll just keep a lid on it for now. It makes me reconsider whether or not I consider him just a plain human or not. One of his enchanted in particular really may elevate him above human status. Still, he's no Guardian if he fights evil for profit.

JANUARY 1, 2012
It's hard to believe that it's a new year already. The last one seemed to really fly by. Today makes FIFTY FOUR months in a row that I've done something for my comics every day. I started this new year with a bit of new writing. I've got a character you could describe as a monster hunter. He thinks of himself as a "Guardian," like Mortem Brand, Stoic, & Ogburn. In my world, Guardians raom from place to place vanquishing evil because it's their calling. This other character does it for profit (and for women). Also, this character is just a human who uses enchanted artifacts to kill supernatural things, whereas those real Guardians are more than human themselves. I wrote mostly notes about this character, specifically his relationships with the three guardians I mentioned. Here's a hint: they don't like him very much.

This website as well as all characters and comics listed therein, copyright 2011 Jay W. Davis / One Shot Productions.